MLB Player News

Realmuto will sit Thursday against Atlanta.

Realmuto went hitless in his first game back from the injured list in late May but has since collected at least one hit in eight straight contests. He'll receive a day to rest Thursday, with Andrew Knapp taking over behind the plate.

Smith is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers will wrap up their series in Pittsburgh with a day game after a night game, so Smith is just receiving a routine breather after catching all nine innings of Wednesday's 2-1 win. He'll take a seat in favor of Austin Barnes (ankle), who will return from a three-game absence to catch Julio Urias.

Barnes (ankle) will start at catcher and bat eighth Thursday against the Pirates, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Barnes hadn't started since picking up a mild ankle sprain Saturday against Atlanta, but he was still available if needed the past few days while No. 1 backstop Will Smith caught the past three games for Los Angeles. Smith will get a breather for the day game after a night game, paving the way for Barnes to return to action. The 31-year-old should regularly serve as Clayton Kershaw's primary battery mate, but Barnes can't be counted on to pick up more than one or two additional starts per week with Smith clearly entrenched as the starter.

Contreras went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Wednesday's loss against the Phillies.

Contreras has now posted back-to-back three-hit performances. While he's been inconsistent at the plate over the last few weeks, it's worth noting he's hit safely in four of his last five contests. The rookie backstop has six homers while posting a .845 OPS across 103 plate appearances.

Stephenson went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI on Wednesday against the Brewers.

Stephenson began the productive effort with an RBI double in the first inning. He followed that up three frames later by driving in two runners with another extra-base knock, giving him seven RBI in his last 10 games. In that same span, he's collected nine hits across 31 at-bats. For the season, Stephenson is hitting .268/.363/.402 with three home runs, 19 runs scored and 16 RBI across 146 plate appearances.

Tromp went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in Wednesday's 4-3, extra-innings loss to the Rangers.

Tromp was the Giants' best offensive player in his second game of the season, as none of his other teammates recorded two hits in the afternoon loss. Backup catcher Curt Casali (wrist) figures to replace Tromp when activated from the injured list, but more performances like Wednesday's could potentially earn Tromp a longer stay on the big-league roster.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Stallings will get a breather after he caught four of the last five games for the Pirates. Michael Perez steps in behind the dish Wednesday, working in a battery with starting pitcher Tyler Anderson.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.

Barnhart will get some routine maintenance after catching in each of the Reds' last three games. Tyler Stephenson will fill in for Barnhart behind the dish Wednesday.

Contreras isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over San Diego, but he'll get a breather in Wednesday's series finale. P.J. Higgins will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Bart went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and two RBI for Triple-A Sacramento in its 4-3 win over Reno on Tuesday.

Just over a month into the minor-league season, Bart has already churned out seven multi-hit games at Sacramento. The 24-year-old catcher is now slashing .358/.411/.642 through 73 plate appearances in the minors, but a call-up to the big leagues likely won't be in the forecast for Bart unless No. 1 backstop Buster Posey is forced to the injured list at some point.